Friday, September 18, 2009

Disney 2009 Day 1

This year, I took part in UFT (The Ultimate Field Trip)at Disney World. My good friend, Carol Beth, runs 3D Travel Company and coordinates this "homeschool" field trip every year. This year, we joined 483 other homeschool families for the best field trip ever! I took Emma and Isaac. We met Mom there, as well.

The day we arrived, I took the kids to The Magic Kingdom while we waited for Mom to arrive. It was a VERY LONG day. It started at 4:30 AM when I got up to get myself ready. I got the kids up at 5:00. We left the house at 5:30 and headed to the airport. There, we met up with our friends, the Scott's, who were on our flight. Our flight took off at 7:30 AM. By the time we got to the airport, shuttled to the hotel - Pop Century, and got to our room it was early afternoon. The kids and I headed to MK to wait for Mom (her flight didn't land until almost 4).

This year is the Year of Celebrations at Disney World. Since I celebrated my birthday that week, I received a "birthday" button. That was so much fun! Yes, I wore it every day!! I bet I heard "Happy Birthday, Tara" at least 30 times a day! It was very nice!

We watched a show at the castle. I think it was called "Wishes". Then we headed for some rides. We didn't ride many that day since we were pretty tired. We did, however, ride Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, and Small World (Emma's favorite).

That evening, we met with CB and her travel agents at the Grand Floridian. This was where we picked up our group itineraries (for the UFT meet-ups through out the week). Emma got a lesson in "proper Pixie-dusting", and both kids learned about pin-trading ettiquite. After the meet-up, we headed into the Grand Floridian for a pizza dinner.

Were we done yet? Not quite yet! I think by this point the kids and I were on auto-pilot!! But, Mom was finally here, and the kids wanted to take her to the park. So, off we went - very slowly!! Emma and I rode Small World again while Isaac and my mom rode The Haunted Mansion. Then, Mom and I swapped and rode the other ride. After that, we all rode Dumbo and Cinderella's Carousel. At that point, I could take no more (and the kids had become quite grouchy as well). So, we headed back to the room to hit the hay!

2010 To-Do List

While I don't think I'll accomplish everything on this list in 2010, I do need a place to "dump" all my ideas. So, here goes nothing...Kitchen/Dining Area:*make placemats and cloth napkins*sew curtains*find/create art to hang on big wall*Make family rules art like THIS*Scour yard sales for cheap frames to frame family pics on the fridge like THIS

Master Bedroom:*paint all furniture espresso brown(bought new furniture instead)*find two small rugs for sides of bed(bought one large one instead)*make floating nightstands (bought new furniture)*make curtains*replace crown molding*organize closet like *this*

Game Room:*make dominoes like THIS*make curtains*make floor pillows*replace big desk with smaller onepurchased a new smaller desk and removed it from the game room*create art/craft area for Emma*scour yardsales and Goodwill for cheap frames for framing Emma's artwork like THIS*create "lego" space for Isaac

Sewing Closet:*organize*hang peg board for tool storage*create inspiration board*reprint all ebook directions and bind for easier storage*create a storage system on top of shelving like *this*

Emma's Room:*curtains like THIS (the pink one)*create curtain for AG doll wardrobe*paint it blue*create artwork (ballet-related) for walls*create a place to display her arts and crafts*make new bow holder to match her room*make floor pillows*hang Nutcracker plates*hang white shelf above Nutcracker plates to display Nutcrackers*cover lampshade like THIS with ribbon I have*put up chair rail

Front Yard:*plant flowers in beds around trees*create a flower bed on side of house*extend flower beds in front of house